The Top Cities in America for Hockey Fans

As the Stanley Cup Playoffs have come to a close with another NHL season in the books, WalletHub has ranked a list of the Best Cities for Hockey Fans in 2017.

It's no secret that North Dakota loves its hockey, but where would any of its turn up on this list. The list specifically ranked 72 cities based on 19 different factors determining what cities were the best in the U.S. for hockey and its fans. It turns out that one North Dakota city would make the list. Grand Forks took the ranking as the 27th best city in the nation for hockey fans.

One important factor that helped Grand Forks earn their ranking was being the city with the "Best Performing NCAA (Div. I Men's) Teams." In that specific category, Grand Forks beat out the likes of notables Denver (CO), Cambridge (MA), Pittsburgh (PA), and Houghton (MI). With such a high ranking in that particular category, Grand Forks was knocked down on the list due to the fact that they tied for the "Highest Minimum Season Ticket Price for NCAA Games."

The top five cities in America for hockey fans are as follows: 1) Detroit, MI; 2) Boston, MA; 3) Pittsburgh, PA; 4) Anaheim, CA; 5) St. Louis, MO. Given the traditions of those NHL/NCAA teams in those cities, it's not much of a surprise to see them listed at the top of the ranks. On a personal note, as someone from St. Louis, I can tell you I'm pretty satisfied with that ranking seeing as how we're loyal, we pack the arena, and win or lose, we absolutely adore our team (St. Louis Blues).

Given that much of the NHL fans in our region are Minnesota Wild fans, it's important to note that St. Paul and Minneapolis finished at 16th and 38th on the list, respectively. A few other Minnesota cities in the region made it as well, also have ties to NCAA teams as well. The full list can be seen below.

You now have a full summer ahead of you to take in this list and analyze it to its fullest. Just remember that hockey season's only a few short summer months away. I think I speak for every hockey fan when I say that fall can't come soon enough.